Love, Hate & Other Filters (Arc Review)

Love, Hate & Other Filters by Samira Ahmed288 Pages.My Rating – 4* – 4*‘Maya Aziz is torn between futures: the one her parents expect for their good Indian daughter (i.e.; staying nearby in Chicago and being matched with a “suitable” Muslim boy), and the one where she goes to film school in New York City–and maybe, just maybe, kisses a guy she’s only known from afar. There’s the also the fun stuff, like laughing with her best friend Violet, making on-the-spot documentaries, sneaking away for private swimming lessons at a secret pond in the woods. But her world is shattered when a suicide bomber strikes in the American heartland; by chance, he shares Maya’s last name. What happens to the one Muslim family in town when their community is suddenly consumed with hatred and fear?’

i just want to state first that i’m not muslim, nor do i know enough about the religion to say if samira ahmed did this book justice, that is the only reason i have rated it 4 stars currently, i may change this once i have read other people’s reviews on that aspect.

for me, i feel like this was a very important book to read, and the further i got into it the more i knew that the statement was true, i really enjoyed this book. it was such a captivating book from start to finish and i pretty much finished it in a day which is a record for me at the moment with how slowly i’ve been reading books!!

although i couldn’t relate to the events that were happening in maya’s life i still felt so completely sorry for her, how she no longer felt safe at her school, what happened with her parents. i just can’t even begin to imagine what it felt like to go through those things, but it was so nice to see it being spoken about – these sort of things need to be brought to light more and more often.

i loved maya as a character, she was smart and stubborn and she knew what she wanted and she refused to give up on her dream no matter what happened to her.

this book was a powerful, enlightening and amazing read and i can’t wait for you guy’s to experience this for yourself!!

➡️ thank you to Hot Key Books publishing and netgalley for the arc in return for an honest review.

Have you read this book?
I’d love to hear your thought on it!
If you haven’t read it have you got it on your TBR?